While downtime has some positives for employee mental well-being and improving productivity, some workplaces still suffer from wasted time. This is not to say that your team should work non-stop, but rather identify areas where wasted time does more harm than initially expected. If you feel your workplace or site needs to reach its potential, consider these four ways to reduce wasted time.
Identify Common Issues
Every company has common problems that upset the balance and lead to wasted time. However, you may be too busy to know which issues affect the flow, so carrying out regular workplace checks helps you identify the most pressing issues.
Still, knowing what’s wrong doesn’t solve anything, so you need to discover how to improve or eliminate factors that cause wasted time within your office or workplace. Since your employees are the ones dealing with such issues most often, you can set up a small committee to discuss the issues and gain insights. From there, you should be able to solve the problem.
Train Your Employees
Most of the wasted time in workplaces comes from poorly trained employees who lack the confidence to complete tasks or don’t know what to do. While it may not seem like much, employees who continuously ask for assistance or clarification are not as productive. But, if they try to do something without proper training, they might make a mistake or hurt themselves or someone else. The solution to this is to provide thorough training, even if you need to train them for longer than usual to ensure they know all the basics and they will eventually pick up the rest.
Invest In Better Equipment
Another reason companies suffer from wasted time and a lack of efficiency is outdated equipment. This equipment could be your computers, network, or even heavy machinery. Older equipment will not be as efficient or as usable as it could lack useful features and functions that come as standard with modern alternatives.
Upgrading your equipment can make a huge difference to productivity at work. Furthermore, you should consider maintenance. Yearly checks or conveyor belt cleaners keep your equipment running smoothly, while regular systems tests ensure your network is secure to minimize the risk of breaches.
Make Sure Everyone Knows Their Role
Managers should accept that employees cannot work all day, and someone finishing their duties and projects demonstrates their efficiency. However, you don’t want employees sitting around not doing anything.
Giving people a designated role will help to keep them busy as the day progresses. It doesn’t need to be work, but perhaps administrative demands or courses that accelerate professional development. You could even request that they keep their workspace tidy to promote better focus. However, asking employees to work outside of their job description can come with resistance, so you may need to provide extra compensation if they complete tasks they do not normally do.
No More Wasted Time
There is a substantial difference between downtime and wasted time. Managers and leaders who can identify this are more likely to transform wasted time into positive efforts. In turn, this will make your company more productive and efficient while still maintaining excellent morale.
